the mixing bowl of cultures
by Vladabean
Summary: America was never a perfect country. one day, he can't take it any longer. the other countries notice some unstability during the first meeting of the month, when he comes in wearing a tank top, hoodie, sweat pants, slides, his hair is a mess, his skin is all pasty, he looks sick at first, but then they notice the pocket radio in his hands...they let their troubles really begin
1. chapter 1

chapter 1. what's happening? confusion and mental unstability.

the meeting was starting in 30 minutes. this was a very important meeting, so everyone would actually cooperate. kiku was holding the meeting and a few other countries still needed to arrive. Alfred was usually late, but not this late. atleast the Nordics had yet to arrive...oh. there they were. kiku was worried for his boyfriend at this point. then, everyone nearly got whiplash from turning their heads so fast. there was Alfred...wearing a tank top, hoodie, sweat pants, and slides? wait...this was a casual dress meeting, but nobody meant this casual. yao got a closer look at him. his skin was pasty, his hair was a mess, he was a bit flushed, shaking, and it was obvious that he hadn't showered in weeks. "aiyaa! Alfred, are you-" the naturally loud man had glanced down at the pocket radio in Alfred's hands. his voice got to what you would call one pitch louder that a whisper, but everyone heard it. "-sick aru?" kiku noticed that his lover was tearing up. "Alfred, what happened..." it was obvious that Alfred hadn't slept at all lately. when he was tired, he would slip into a deep southern accent. this was one of those cases. "what happened this time? you guys are so quiet...I'm fine..." Arthur was shocked. the fact that the boy he raised would be this stressed..."ALFRED F. JONES, YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW! YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT, SHOWERED, CHANGED CLOTHES, IN WEEKS! YOU PROBABLY HAVEN'T EATEN ANYTHING! AND YET YOU FORCE YOURSELF TO COME TO A MEETING!? HELD IN JAPAN!?" he came over and hugged his once colony. "who or what did this to you...my lad..." then, Arthur heard the title he hadn't been called in years. "dad, I'm ok...really...come on. let's get this meeting started." everyone reluctantly agreed. it was weird, having the loudest country be the quietest one. soon, it was his turn to present. he grabbed his speech and went up there. "if we lower the price of resources for those who have nothing, maybe humanity would have a chance...I say we start having packages with food, basic first aid, water, water filters, and other basic needs made. then..." he started randomly crying again...'why now! if this whole thing could just wait!' he thought. "we...could...GOD WHY!?" he dropped to the floor. "WHY DO THEY MAKE CAMPS FOR KIDS WHO CAN'T EVEN READ YET!? NOBODY SHOULD BE ILLEGAL ON STOLEN LAND! IF A BLONDE HAIRED, BLUE EYED PERSON STOOD AT THE BORDER WOULD THEY BE TAKEN AWAY, TORTURED! YEAH, WE MAY HAVE STOPPED BREAKING UP FAMILIES, BUT WHAT ABOUT REUNITING THEM!?" he took a breath..."they say that I'm the mixing bowl of cultures...if it's a mix, why is there only one ingredient?" Italy looked at germany. "what is he sayi-" "Italy...you know exactly what ingredient he's talking about..." after looking at his peers, apologizing for snapping like that, and being told that he shouldn't apologize...he blacked out.


	2. chapter 2

chapter 2. rehabilitation of Alfred F. Jones.

he woke up at Japan's house, being cared for like he was sick. japan, England, france, and Canada were there. Japan noticed him waking up. "America, are you ok?" the others came over. Arthur started stroking his "son's" hair. "tell us what happened, love..." Alfred started tearing up. "the border...my boss...the people...the children, the laws, the government, the truth, the lies-" francis started hugging his "son." "Alfred...here. we'll take you home so you can grab a few things. You'll be staying with kiku for a bit. we'll be in a hotel around the corner. when we come back, you should clean up, change clothes, and please eat something, you're thinner than germany's patience. you don't have to tell us anything if you don't want you. we just want to make sure that you're alright. you're clearly unstable, so we want to help you. you just need to let yourself breathe for a bit...merde, I've never seen you so stressed...we're going to help you...a good idea would be to write your thoughts down. that way, you can sort them out and if you want to tell us, you can. but you don't have to if you don't want to." Alfred sighed. "t-thank you..." "love, we care about you very much. To see you hurt yourself like this...you're going to be yourself. I promise. it may take years, even decades, but you are going to be back to your old self." so, alfred went home and came back after a bit.


	3. Chapter 3: What Next

He came back to japan's house with a few things and they cleaned him up, and he changed clothes and then they convinced him to eat just a little bit. Kiku went out to grab some things from the store and he came back with some multivitamins, protein bars, and some books on mental disorders. He looked and saw france, canada, and england sitting at the table. "We tried to get him to get out of bed..." Canada said. "But he won't...he curls in on himself, listening to that radio..." there he was, curled in on himself, just looking as worried and lost as ever. there was no helping him for a while. they tried to wait it out. finally kiku just went over to him, hoping it would help. "America, how about we-" "no. I'm not turning the radio off. I need to know when stuff happens." "Alfred, it's making you sick and killing you from the inside." "no." Japan sighed. He went back to France, England, and Canada. "No luck. Guess he's keeping it." they just looked at each other, wondering, well what next? There was a rare chance of helping him at this point. He wouldn't move, he ate once a day, he had no motivation, and he tried to kill himself twice. This was getting him nowhere. Where was the loud, quirky country they had known for so long? They missed the pranks, and the grease stains, and the jokes. They missed Everything about him. But they weren't about to let him make himself sick like this. It was only a matter of time.


End file.
